NFC for dummies by robert r sabella

About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from HerePart 1: Getting Started with NFC Chapter 1: Introducing Near Field Communication NFC Pres

RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OFTHIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES,

INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A

PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED

BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIESCONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION.THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER

IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED,THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BESOUGHT NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLEFOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION

OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR APOTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THATTHE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THEORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS ITMAY MAKE FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNETWEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR

DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our

572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002 For technical support, please visit

Customer Care Department within the U.S at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S at 317-www.wiley.com/techsupport

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand.Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included

in e-books or in print-on-demand If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVDthat is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at

About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Getting Started with NFC

Chapter 1: Introducing Near Field Communication (NFC)

Presenting a Quick History of NFC Defining the Need for NFC

Discovering Where NFC Wallets Are Used Most Presenting a Simplified View of NFC

Chapter 2: Considering the NFC Difference

Understanding the NFC Forum Goals Considering NFC Wireless Communication Specifics Understanding How NFC Compares to Other Technologies Following the Evolution from Smart Cards to Smartphones Creating a Secure Environment

Part 2: Understanding NFC

Chapter 3: Defining NFC

Understanding the Need for Standards Investigating the Two Main NFC Standards Considering Card Emulation

Defining the Five Tag Types Defining the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) Locating Additional Resources on the NFC Forum

Chapter 4: Considering NFC Hardware

Understanding NFC Hardware Basics Considering NFC Communication Modes Considering NFC Operating Modes

Differentiating Between Interrogators and Tags Understanding the Transfer of Power

Communicating Between Devices Adding NFC to an Existing Device

Chapter 5: Considering NFC Software

Discovering the Key Players in NFC Development Turning On Smartphone NFC Support

Performing Card Emulation Tasks Using Encryption to Secure Communications Writing Tags

Managing NFC Tags Making NFC Part of the Internet of Things (IoT) Differentiating Between Web Apps and Mobile Apps

Part 3: Using NFC

Chapter 6: Using NFC for Payments

Understanding Mobile Wallet Security Requirements Considering the Potential Mobile Wallet Solutions

Chapter 7: Employing NFC for Identification

Using NFC for Workplace Monitoring Authenticating Users

Using an NFC Phone Personalizing NFC Use Replacing Your Car Keys Automating Vehicle Interactions

Chapter 8: Using NFC in Health Care

Dealing with Privacy Issues Performing Hospital-related Tasks Working with Logger Tags Monitoring Patients Remotely Interacting with Patient Monitors Addressing Accessibility Needs

Chapter 9: Considering Other NFC Uses

Performing Marketing Tasks Having Fun with Applications Managing Events

Interacting with Customers Creating NFC Wearable Devices Working with Appliances Developing NFC Smart Posters

Chapter 10: Avoiding the Not-Used-Here Mentality

Working with Businesses that Don’t Use NFC Developing Apps that Won’t Work Without NFC Creating a Business Plan Showing NFC Advantages

Chapter 11: Understanding the Hardware Issues

Ensuring that the Device is Ready Using the Device Correctly Understanding Odd Device Behaviors Finding the Device’s Sweet Spot Considering Other Tag Issues

Chapter 12: Understanding the Software Issues

Installing Needed Software Knowing the Modes Your Device Supports Providing Biometric Authentication Getting Apps from Reliable Sources

Chapter 13: Considering Networking Problems

Understanding the Cost of Using Wi-Fi Understanding the Cost of Using Bluetooth Dealing with Environmental Factors Considering Potential Security Issues

Part 5: The Part of Tens

Chapter 14: Ten Places to Find NFC-Specific Information

NFC Forum Smart Card Alliance Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) NFC World

NFC Times NearFieldCommunication.org Pymnts.com

EverydayNFC Gartner IHS Technology

Chapter 15: Ten Really Cool NFC Implementations

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital Blue Bite

Galatea: Jewelry by Artist NFC Ring

Khushi Baby

Rémy Martin Tracking the Things You Love London History Museum Oxfam

Skylanders Superchargers

Chapter 16: Ten NFC Trends

Moving from Tap-to-Pay to Tap-to-Buy Enhancing the Gaming Experience Improving Health care

Creating New Marketing Strategies Managing Events

Enhancing the Effects of Mobile Commerce Making the Most of Wearables

Interacting with Smart Appliances Authenticating Products

Considering B2B Trends

Chapter 17: Ten NFC Companies You Need to Know About

Blue Bite NXP Flomio Smartrac HID Global Poken Cellotape Advanced Card Systems (ACS) Holdings Limited Thinfilm

Ask most people what NFC stands for and they will probably answer “the National

Football Conference.” But the NFC in this book is far more important than football Itstands for Near Field Communication, a technology that has the potential to

significantly change how you interact with the people and things around you Theexciting news about NFC is that we haven’t even scratched the surface yet of how this

technology is going to change our lives That’s why you need NFC For Dummies This

book is your introduction to the larger world of NFC, and it helps you see why thistechnology is so amazing

NFC For Dummies begins by introducing you to NFC You discover that NFC is

already used all over the place, and you might not have even realized it

Discovering how this technology has been hiding in plain sight is a good starting point.The second part of the book tells you how NFC actually works and why it needs towork in this specific way You may initially find some of this material a little technical,but if you want to use NFC to the fullest extent possible, you need to know what makes

it special

After you know how NFC works, it’s time to see it in action The next part of the bookdiscusses many of the ways in which you can use NFC to perform useful tasks Eachchapter introduces another area in which NFC is in use today Amazing as these usesare, they’re really just the tip of the iceberg, and the links in these chapters will leadyou to still more resources

Every technology comes with a few implementation issues Some set of technical

circumstances inevitably causes problems Fortunately, this book tells you about thoseissues and tells you how to fix them You end up looking really smart because whileyour buddies are sitting there not doing much, you’ve already fixed the problem andare doing something useful with NFC

A single book can’t even begin to tell you about everything NFC has to offer In fact,you could probably read several books and still not begin to exhaust this topic That’swhy the Parts of Ten is there It gives you access to resources that will keep you

reading for quite some time to come When you finish it all, you’ll become an NFCguru, and everyone around you will be looking to you as the NFC expert

You might find it difficult to believe that I’ve assumed anything about you — after all,

we haven’t even met yet! Although most assumptions are indeed foolish, I made theseassumptions to provide a starting point for the book

Of course, you do need to have some desire to work with NFC to solve some sort ofproblem or address a need In many cases, the problem or need is business or taskspecific, but you might be amazed at the ways in which you can use NFC to addresspersonal needs as well The point is that you need to have some anticipated purpose forusing NFC to get the most out of this book

You should also understand some basics of technology For example, if you aren’t onspeaking terms with your smartphone, this book might not be a good fit for you You

do need some level of technical savvy to make good use of the material, even thoughthe bar isn’t set very high

This book also assumes that you can access items on the Internet Sprinkled throughoutare numerous references to online material that will enhance your learning experience.However, these added sources are useful only if you actually find and use them

As you read this book, you see icons in the margins that indicate material of interest (ornot, as the case may be) This section briefly describes each icon in this book

Tips are nice because they help you save time or perform some task without alot of extra work The tips in this book are time-saving techniques or pointers toresources that you should try in order to get the maximum benefit from NFC or inperforming NFC-related tasks

I don’t want to sound like an angry parent or some kind of maniac, but youshould avoid doing anything that’s marked with a Warning icon Otherwise, youmight find that your NFC application fails to work as expected, you get incorrectresponses from seemingly bulletproof configurations, or (in the worst-case

scenario) you lose data or damage equipment

Whenever you see this icon, think advanced tip or technique You might findthese tidbits of useful information just too boring for words, or they could containthe solution you need to get an NFC solution running Skip these bits of

information whenever you like

If you don’t get anything else out of a particular chapter or section, rememberthe material marked by this icon This text usually contains an essential process or

a bit of information that you must know to work with NFC successfully

This book isn’t the end of your NFC experience — it’s really just the beginning I

provide online content to make this book more flexible and better able to meet yourneeds That way, as you send me email about the book, I can address questions and tellyou how updates to NFC affect book content In fact, you gain access to all these cooladditions:

Cheat sheet: You remember using crib notes in school to make a better mark on a

test, don’t you? You do? Well, a cheat sheet is sort of like that It provides you withsome special notes about tasks that you can do with NFC You can find the cheatsheet for this book at http://www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/nfc It contains reallyneat information such as the NFC operating modes and tag types

Updates: Sometimes changes happen For example, I might not have seen an

upcoming change when I looked into our crystal ball during the writing of thisbook In the past, this possibility simply meant that the book became outdated andless useful, but you can now find updates to the book at

Bootcamp website at http://www.nfcbootcamp.com

It’s time to start your NFC adventure! If you’re completely new to NFC, you shouldstart with Chapter 1 and progress through the book at a pace that allows you to absorb

as much of the material as possible

If you’re a novice who’s in an absolute rush to get going with NFC as quickly as

possible, you can skip to Chapter 3 with the understanding that you may find sometopics a bit confusing later Skipping to Chapter 4 is possible if you already have someexperience with NFC, but you may find that some terms are confusing if you do

Readers who have some exposure to NFC and already have a good idea of how itworks can save reading time by moving directly to Chapter 6 You can always go back

to earlier chapters as necessary when you have questions Starting at Chapter 6 will getyou moving with NFC as a real-world solution to your particular need Of course,skipping all the preliminary chapters may also mean that you skip some really amazinginformation about NFC that you didn’t know existed

Part 1

Getting Started with NFC

Discovering how NFC came into being

Understanding why NFC is such a cool technologyObtaining a brief overview of how NFC works

Seeing NFC from the user perspective

Differentiating NFC from other wireless technologies

Chapter 1

Unlike older technologies, NFC is also quite flexible and can be found in almost allnew smartphones today, so you can use it in more ways and places than you mightinitially think Everyone can use NFC — developers, hobbyists, and the average person

on the street This chapter helps you gain an understanding of how NFC came to be andhow it can give your organization a competitive advantage Throughout this book, yougain insights into how you can use NFC to perform useful tasks This chapter beginswith the concept of using NFC to enable digital wallets — a topic that is in all the

headlines Using NFC means that you can make purchases with greater confidence andwith a smaller chance of having to deal with issues such as identity theft In fact, you’ll

be amazed at all the ways in which you can use NFC wallets to make your life easier

So, although you might initially think about all the ways you can use NFC to makethings easier for your organization, you also need to think of all the ways you can use it

to help yourself After all, you do have a life outside of work that NFC can and willaffect!

This chapter ends by providing you with a quick overview of how NFC works Youdon’t have to endure a long lecture about all the bits and bytes of NFC technology, nor

do you have to become an electrical engineer Rather, this chapter provides an

introduction to the technology so that you can talk about it with other people and make

a few simple decisions about how you might use NFC as an individual or within yourorganization In addition, you gain insights into how NFC can make your life simplerbecause you now have a better idea of where you’ve already seen NFC used in real-world applications

As with most technologies, NFC didn’t just appear on the horizon one day Variouscompanies spent a good deal of time putting the specifics for NFC together In addition,these companies used existing technologies, in this case Radio Frequency Identification(RFID), as a starting point (RFID was a 1983 invention of Charles Walton, but itsorigins can be traced back to WWII You can find an excellent history of RFID at

http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?1338.) NFC is actually a technologythat overlaps RFID — it uses a shorter operating distance for the sake of security

Figure 1-1 shows the key dates for NFC milestones that have affected how the

technology has changed over time Even though the NFC effort started in 2002, theInternational Standards Organization (ISO) didn’t approve NFC as an acceptable

standard until 2003

FIGURE 1-1: Significant accomplishments in NFC technology.

As shown in Figure 1-1, NFC tags — small sticker-like devices used to store

information or data in a manner that an NFC-enabled device can read or optionallywrite — didn’t come in a standardized form until 2006 When an NFC-enabled devicemoves over the tag, it can retrieve the information the tag contains However, don’tworry about how the hardware works for now All that is important to remember at thispoint is that NFC tags use a standardized form so that any NFC-enabled device caninteract with any NFC tag — making NFC exceptionally easy to use

One of the technologies that truly distinguishes NFC is the use of SmartPoster

technology (a kind of visual display that incorporates both traditional poster contentand digital content that an NFC-enabled device can read or optionally write) This

information in a physical printed poster for people to access Passing a smartphone orother NFC-enabled device over specifically marked areas of the poster provides

viewers with details they can take with them The first use for SmartPosters that comes

to mind is for public venues such as trade shows — no more need to waste moneyprinting take-away brochures that end up on the floor anyway (see companies such asPoken, http://www.poken.com/, and ITN, http://www.itnint.com/, for examples ofthis use) However, SmartPosters can appear in all sorts of places, such as bus shelters,malls, and airports (see BlueBite, at http://www.bluebite.com/, for an example ofthese uses)

February 2006 saw the introduction of the first NFC-enabled cellphone, the Nokia

6131 NFC (Not all versions of the Nokia 6131 provide NFC support.) This phonestarted the whole idea of being able to pass the phone over a tag and obtain informationfrom it By the time the Samsung Nexus S appeared on the scene in 2010, NFC supportbecame a standard feature and the capabilities of NFC had improved significantly.One of the significant additions to NFC is its capability to provide peer-to-peer support

In addition to reading information from tags, you can exchange information with

another person by bringing your NFC-enabled smartphones closely together Instead ofhaving to deal with bulky business cards, NFC-enabled smartphones let you keep yourconnections in a place where they’re easily found, used, and managed In addition tobusiness connections, your peer-to-peer connection can also exchange data such aspictures, movies, and music

NFC is growing significantly It’s predicted that within five years, half or more

of all phones made will have NFC support Within ten years, people will use NFCdata exchange as a preferred method for obtaining publicly available informationfrom physical objects; although, the use of NFC will remain completely optional

NFC solves all sorts of problems, and throughout this book you get introduced to a lot

of these solutions However, before you spend time reading about NFC, you might like

to know how you can use it to meet your needs immediately In fact, you might besurprised to learn that you already use NFC and simply don’t know it NFC appears allover the place The following sections provide you with a quick summary of some ofthe most interesting uses As you progress through the book, you find additional usesdescribed in more detail

Interacting with devices using simpler methods

Imagine being able to interact with any device just by tapping it with an NFC-enableddevice such as your smartphone For example, you tap your portable speakers, and themusic currently playing on your smartphone starts playing out of the speakers instead.You get the full effect of those high-quality speakers you purchased, but with the musicthat you like from your smartphone Bluetooth pairing of devices is normally a painfulprocess when done manually NFC makes the pairing possible with a single tap Eventhough the music still relies on Bluetooth to get from the device to the speakers, thepairing is done with NFC

The same concepts hold true with your television A single tap is enough to make aconnection with your smartphone so that you can see the pictures or video currentlydisplayed on the smartphone, but at television size and resolution Sony and othercompanies are currently engaged in making NFC connectivity happen in all sorts ofways You can read about some of the latest Sony offerings at

devices-with-one-touch/

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/12/nfc-makes-it-easy-to-connect-sonys-Buying products with ease

You walk up to the cash register with a cartful of goods you want to buy Whether thecash register is actually manned by someone is unimportant (some stores are now

experimenting with self-serve checkouts that really do save the store money and makethe shopping experience much faster for most people) The goods are swiped across thescanner to get prices When you have a coupon for an item, you simply tap your phone

to add it to the register You can be sure that the coupon actually reduces your costbecause you can see the reduction immediately after you tap the phone When it comestime to pay for the goods, another tap of your smartphone is all you need to pay forthem using your credit or debit card No more paper exchanging hands, and the level ofconvenience is amazing

Even though all these tasks can be performed with other technologies, theimportant issue is how NFC handles security When using NFC, the cards, fobs,

Remember that not every NFC transaction is completely secure MIFAREtransit fares and NFC payment are secure because the application supplies therequired security However, reading a tag isn’t inherently secure, except for thenatural level of security that NFC provides (such as a short reading distance).Security concerns are covered in later chapters, such as Chapter 6, where you canread about mobile wallet security requirements

Products can also extend to services For example, a common use for NFC is to pay for

a train or a bus London uses the Oyster card (

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/oyster) to give people the capability to tap their card to gain access to therequired transportation services NFC makes using transportation of all sorts a loteasier

Launching a marketing campaign

Getting people to buy your product is an essential part of any business venture Afterall, if no one buys your product, you’ll quickly be out of business The problem ismaking your product stand out from all the other products out there Of course, youcould pay someone to ride in one of those cheesy trucks and blare out over a soundsystem, “Buy my product!” but that strategy is bound to fail A better option is to

provide people with information sources they can interact with, such as signs and

kiosks When people can enter a store, see the big poster with your product on it, andtouch their smartphones to it to learn more, you gain a significant advantage over yourcompetition that’s relying on signs alone

For a merchant, the NFC advantage is that full interactive communication with yourcustomer, including tracking and accountability, can be initiated with a simple, digitalgesture that's as natural as pointing at a product or display This means that you candetermine how many people have checked out your ad and know which locations arebetter suited to selling your product Also, you can determine how people interactedwith your ad so that you know which sales pitches work better And you can learnwhich ads converted to sales Therefore, it’s no longer a matter of putting up a sign andhoping it sells something for you Using NFC means that you can determine preciselyhow a marketing campaign is progressing and make changes as needed to ensure

success

Building your personal network quickly and easily

Networking is essential in today’s world Look at the emergence of online sites such asLinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/) Some people get most or even all their work

at your fingertips makes you more efficient and better able to react to changing

conditions In short, you need connections today to be a success in business With this

in mind, NFC helps you create a personal network in two important ways, discussednext

Exchanging business cards

One reason to use NFC is to make interacting with people easier Of course, you havethe option to exchange information simply by tapping smartphones Information caninclude more than just name, address, and telephone number You can exchange allsorts of information, including media of any sort that your smartphone can handle

Exchanging other contact information

Thinking outside the box is important when exchanging information with someoneelse For example, you might decide to create a presentation that fits on a smartphone.Tapping your phone with that of a potential client creates the connection that transfersthe presentation and lets the client play it later at her leisure No longer do you have torely on a quick sales pitch to do all the work for you Now you can concentrate ongaining the other person’s interest and then make the sales pitch later using a full

multimedia presentation through which you can convey all the facts

Creating ad-hoc wireless connections

In times past, you often needed to jump through hoops to connect two devices in asecure manner You can use the security that NFC provides for tasks such as bankingbecause it carries only a low risk of eavesdropping and offers no practical way for anoutsider to influence the content of your NFC transmissions (even if he’s standing rightthere with you) NFC offers you the simplicity of a wireless connection, but its limitedrange offers added physical security not available to other forms of wireless

communication With this in mind, just about anything you can do with a wired

connection, you can also do with NFC However, unlike a wired connection, you don’thave to do anything special to accomplish the task — simply bring the NFC deviceclose to a tag or other device

Having fun with games

Interestingly enough, you can even use NFC to enhance the gaming experience Forexample, Skylanders (https://www.skylanders.com/), a toys-to-life game seriespublished by Activision, integrates interactive figurines that you use to play a game Touse a figurine, you place it on the Portal of Power, which has an NFC reader in it, toregister it The Portal of Power reads the figurine’s NFC tag to determine the

characteristics that the corresponding character has These are console games that usethe gaming console for connectivity so that you can interact with other players

Theoretically, the gaming console you use doesn’t matter, and you can even connectthe Portal of Power to your PC

This game use of NFC is interesting because all the information about yourcharacter resides in the figurine Using NFC means that your figurine contains theintelligence that you can rely on to hold information about your character betweensessions.

Discovering Where NFC Wallets Are Used Most

One of the most exciting ways to use NFC is to pay for things — all sorts of things Itwould be nice to say that NFC has completely penetrated absolutely every market outthere, but the fact is that NFC is still a new technology Consequently, you find NFCused quite a bit in some areas of the country and not nearly enough in other areas

An NFC wallet lets you make payments using a variety of sources In addition, with

your NFC wallet, you can gain points on your loyalty card The application used tomake this functionality happen offers built-in security, so you can assign a PIN to everypayment option your wallet includes These features make NFC wallets different fromother technologies, such as contactless cards, which don’t provide the flexibility andsecurity that the NFC wallet offers The following sections describe where you canmake NFC purchases quite easily and show the sorts of things that people buy usingNFC today

Of course, these figures are current as of the time of writing Make sure youcheck out the NFC Bootcamp site at https://www.nfcbootcamp.com/ for updates

as they become available You may be surprised at just how fast the use of NFCfor making payments grows

Viewing NFC wallet use by area

Where you live partially determines how much NFC you see It definitely determineshow much NFC you use (seeing it doesn’t mean you get to do anything with it,

though) Figure 1-2 shows a map of the places that currently use NFC the most If youlive in one of the larger cities in California, there is a good chance that you’ll not onlysee but also use NFC regularly The same holds true in Texas and New York (followed

by Illinois and Florida) However, if you’re a buyer in Wyoming, you might as well getused to not using the NFC features of your credit card for a while (until local

businesses catch up)

Other states will see that NFC is making a huge difference to the bottom line ofstates like California, and businesses in other states will follow suit The point isthat NFC is catching on, and if you can start implementing it sooner than later,you’ll gain a competitive advantage Early adopters can see a huge increase insales by using new technologies that have already proven their worth in otherareas NFC is such a technology

Viewing NFC wallet use by purchase type

It matters not only where but also how you use NFC Many companies have alreadyfound that NFC is an indispensable part of their business environment, as shown inFigure 1-3 Of course, this figure doesn’t show all the companies that use NFC, but itdoes show some of the larger organizations Even in places like Wisconsin (one of thelighter areas in Figure 1-2, shown previously), you can go into a Subway, tap yourcard, and pay for your dinner So, it’s not impossible to find NFC usage wherever you

go because these larger companies are already using it

Figure 1-3 shows the relative strength of NFC by purchase area Look for thesenumbers to change dramatically for the better as more national and global companiesstart to use NFC at the cash register The article at

marketing/ provides you with more details on just how much of an impact NFC isstarting to make in other industries

It isn’t essential to know every aspect of a technology in order to use it, but havingsome idea of how things work can be helpful For example, you know that your

cellphone requires a cell tower in order to gain access to the network so that you canmake a call You don’t know all the details of how this happens, but you have someidea of what is involved at a high level The following paragraphs provide you with thissort of high-level information By the time you get done reading this material, youknow enough about NFC to understand the essentials of what makes it such an amazingtechnology

Considering what is needed for NFC

One of the reasons that NFC is so successful is that it’s a relatively simple technology(well, at least if you’re a propeller head) Figure 1-4 shows the basic elements of anNFC communication in most cases As you can see, you have an NFC-enabled devicethat uses a wireless connection to power and then interact with some sort of NFC

information source (a card) The technology relies on the same basic principle as thoseRFID readers and tags that you see all over the place in the stores right now The maindifference is that NFC operates at a shorter distance, provides secure communication,and allows for bidirectional communication (peer to peer), so it’s like an RFID solution

on steroids

FIGURE 1-4: Types of items that are commonly purchased using NFC.

It’s important to know that NFC-enabled devices can be either readers or cards Forexample, when you use NFC to exchange information between two smartphones, thefirst smartphone begins by acting as a reader, and the second smartphone acts as a card.After the initial information exchange, they reverse roles Now the first smartphone is acard and the second smartphone is a reader

power source So they always act as information sources, as shown in Figure 1-5 TheNFC-enabled device sends power and commands to the tag, which then responds withdata

FIGURE 1-5: Types of items that are commonly purchased using NFC.

In addition, you can use any NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone to write data to

a tag using a special command This means that you can update the tags as needed tohold new information As the book progresses, you see how this technology works andwhy NFC tags can do so many remarkable things

Understanding the three NFC modes

NFC provides three basic modes of operation These modes make NFC different fromother wireless technologies such as RFID; they provide NFC with the flexibility needed

to create an environment in which you can use NFC for a huge array of communicationneeds The following list gives you an overview of the three NFC modes (which appearseveral times in the book in more detail):

Card emulation: Provides the means to replace a credit or debit card with an NFC-enabled device Rather than use a credit or debit card, you rely on the NFC-enableddevice to make the transaction This mode also includes other sorts of card-typeapplications, such as identification cards, motel pass cards, loyalty cards, ticketing,access control, and any other sort of card-related task you can think of

Discovery (read and write): Allows a user to interact with various information

sources This form of NFC application provides interaction with smart advertising,

Peer-to-peer communication: Creates connectivity between two NFC-enabled

devices When you exchange information with any other smartphone user or create

an ad-hoc network to collaborate on tasks, you’re using the peer-to-peer mode ofNFC Using NFC in this mode is like having a secure network in your pocket thatyou can use in any location with complete peace of mind

Discovering the NFC actors

NFC operates within a business ecosystem An ecosystem is simply a set of rules thatdetermines the behavior of the actors within that system Originally, the term referred

to natural environments where factors such as food availability, birth rate, and thenumber of predators determined the ability of a species to survive In a business

ecosystem, you must look at other factors, such as the productivity that a technologyprovides to those using it, and determine whether the technology can survive the

gazelle placidly browsing on the Serengeti

Producer: An entity who creates NFC technologies for sale to a customer Because

NFC is still an emerging technology, you can count on finding more producersproviding interesting products in the future Think of Mother Nature using

evolution to create interesting new food sources for the gazelle

Customer: An entity who uses NFC to create information for a consumer or obtain

information from a consumer Someone who wants to sell something to someonewill begin by offering information about the product and potentially provide

coupons at a kiosk or other location When the consumer decides to make the

purchase, the customer will obtain the consumer’s credit or debit card information

Of course, this scenario takes place in all sorts of other ways, too Think of thecustomer as the food source for the gazelle

Chapter 2

It’s also important to know that NFC isn’t the appropriate technology for every need.NFC provides you with a new technology designed to meet specific needs that modernusers have Of course, you need to know a bit more about how NFC works before youcan understand where it fits Chapter 1 starts with an overview; this chapter gives youmore specifics After you know how the technology works at a lower level, you look athow NFC compares with other wireless communication technologies You’ll benefitfrom knowing where NFC fits into the picture and understanding that NFC has a

specific niche that it fills

NFC technology has evolved considerably since its introduction This chapter alsodiscusses some of this evolution and helps you understand why these changes are

important

The last part of the chapter is the most important of all A major issue with most

wireless technologies is that everyone can overhear your conversation It’s sort of likeshouting from a rooftop when you meant only to contact the person across the hall.Wireless technologies tend to tell everyone everything, so they aren’t private, and that’s

a problem NFC is more like a whisper You have to be up close, with your ear near theperson’s mouth to hear No longer are you shouting from the rooftop and no longer iseveryone able to hear you NFC is a more secure solution precisely because it whispersyour message to just the recipient that needs to hear it

The NFC Forum (http://nfc-forum.org/) is where you can go to discover all sorts ofthings associated with NFC This is where you can go to learn about the latest NFCadvances and why they’re important to you The home page highlights major NFCareas, so you can just click your way through informational sources However, the NFCForum does have specific goals in helping to promote NFC as a technology:

Developing specifications: One of the most important functions of the NFC Forum

is to define a modular architecture and interoperability parameters for NFC devicesand protocols Everyone has a set of rules to follow when creating products to

ensure that every product works with every other product Maybe you thought thatmaking products that are interoperable was a common approach, but many

priced widget from a vendor in order to get your new device to work

technologies simply don’t work that way, which is why you need that special high-Promoting the creation of new products: Knowing that everyone is following the

rules creates an open market in which even small vendors with just one great ideacan compete Creating this sort of atmosphere means that all the best minds canwork together to help create great products that can enhance everyone’s life

Ensuring that everyone follows the specifications: Of course, if you tell everyone

that everyone else is following the rules, then you really do need to enforce thoserules Some vendors get the idea that the rules apply to everyone but them, so theForum is there to help them remember that the rules are truly for everyone

Educating the public: Keeping all the especially cool things that NFC can do a

secret doesn’t help anyone The NFC Forum helps ensure that everyone knowsabout the latest NFC advances so that everyone can enjoy them Most important, byknowing that a new advancement exists, other vendors can build on it to createeven better products

Considering NFC Wireless Communication Specifics

Before you can define the niche that NFC occupies in the pantheon of wireless

technologies, you must know how NFC communication works to some degree Chapter

1 gives you a great overview, but it isn’t enough information to know how things work,just that they do The following sections provide you with details about how NFC

works as a wireless communication technology, so that you can better understand whyNFC is such a great technology for private or personalized communications of all sorts

Understanding selectivity

The term selectivity, when used in the context of NFC, means being able to ensure that

a reader reads only the card you want to target The reader and the card need to be closeenough together to allow Radio Frequency (RF) communication between the two Ifthe reader read every card in the area, you would have a problem deciding what content

to use or you might have to deal with a wealth of mixed content coming from all thecards simultaneously Of course, the cacophony of information might be interesting for

a little while, but you’d soon grow tired of it Figure 2-1 shows how selectivity workswith NFC Notice that any card you want to read must be within the 4 cm to 10 cmreading distance — the NFC signal isn’t strong enough to read all the other cards in thearea

FIGURE 2-1: NFC selectivity is based on the short distance communication it provides.

Showing intent

NFC requires some sort of intent or gesture, an action on your part, to use it (after youset your device up to use NFC) The act of tapping your phone to the point of sale

(POS) system at the cash register is a kind of gesture Tapping the phone brings it inclose proximity (within the 4 to 10 cm range) with the tag or other NFC-enabled devicewith which you want to interact Unless you show specific intent to use NFC, by

bringing an NFC-enabled device into close enough proximity with an NFC tag or other

You may see tapping referred to in other terms, such as bumping, beaming,

touching, or waving None of these terms adequately describes the gesture you

must perform because of the real physical contact that is necessary to create anNFC connection In order to work, the NFC-enabled objects must be close enough

to establish an RF connection (which is 4 cm for NFC) It takes only milliseconds

to make the connection, but finding the actual interrogation zone or sweet spot

(the precise location between the two objects that allows for NFC connectivity)can sometimes be tricky for someone using NFC for the first time

Creating secure access

The need for close proximity is what makes NFC secure — NFC requires a deliberategesture to initiate a transaction, therefore nondeliberate transactions are difficult toinitiate You can’t simply pass by someone’s smartphone and read all the data from it

In order to read specific kinds of data from another person’s smartphone, you have to

be close enough to connect to it (which is too near for comfort) This means that youdon’t have to worry about some hacker coming along and simply stealing your data, aswould be possible with other technologies that are more vulnerable

It’s important to realize that you do need to be proactive with every computertechnology, and NFC is no exception For example, you want to ensure that yoursmartphone or other NFC-enabled device has good password protection, just incase someone tries to gain access to it A determined hacker will always find away to gain access to data, but you can make things difficult, and perhaps thehacker will go bother someone else You can read more about the potential

vulnerabilities of NFC at

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-secure-is-nfc-tech.htm

Other Technologies

NFC isn’t the only game in town, nor was it ever intended to be Other technologiesprovide functionality that makes them suitable for needs that NFC can’t really address

Of course, choosing the right technology for a particular task can become confusing ifyou don’t understand how it compares with NFC Figure 2-2 provides a quick overview

of the way in which NFC differs from other technologies when it comes to data rateand connection distance

http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?1338

NFC and RFID have completely different uses Organizations generally use RFID onlyfor tracking things — all sorts of things Consequently, people generally use RFID forlogistics, and it doesn’t have a consumer or home use function because of the cost ofthe actual readers RFID readers tend to be expensive, which keeps them out of thehands of the average person

Contrast the wide area of RFID usage with the intimate, secure access provided byNFC, and you find that the two technologies serve different purposes You canfind an interesting infographic on the differences between NFC and RFID at

http://www.nfcbootcamp.com/rfid-versus-nfc-whats-the-difference/

Defining how NFC differs from QR codes

Quick Response (QR) codes or 2D bar codes are the little square black boxes that yousee on some products or advertisements that look like someone spilled some ink ontothe paper They are similar to conventional UPC bar codes on products that get scannedwhen you buy something, but they can contain more information

Most smartphones, even those that aren’t NFC-enabled, can interact with QR codes Ifthe smartphone lacks the required app, you can download one (QR readers aren’t pre-installed in the United States, but they are in other countries.) To read the QR code,simply take a picture of it

The advantages of QR codes are that they are extremely cheap to print and you can putthem almost anywhere The disadvantage of QR codes is that you need to have an app,open the app, and then take a picture of the QR code Bad lighting or smudged ink canmake QR codes difficult or impossible to read NFC is different from QR codes in that

it is native to the phone, meaning almost all phones have NFC pre-installed, and whenyou turn it on, all you need to do is to tap your phone on the tag (see the “Showingintent” section, earlier in this chapter, for details) to read it No special app is needed.NFC tags do cost more than just printing a QR code, but it is a cost versus conveniencedecision that you need to make for your specific use case You can read more about thedifferences between QR codes and NFC at